Darrington athletes help relief effort

With no games to play, Darrington baseball players Trent Green and Tyler Simmons volunteered washing emergency vehicles at the Darrington Fire Department on Tuesday.

They weren’t alone.

Just four days after a massive mudslide devastated the town of Oso, Loggers athletes pitched in wherever they could. Besides washing mud from vehicles and equipment, others stocked shelves at the food bank and even helped with the search for neighbors and friends.

“All my basketball girls are accounted for and they are all pitching in where they can,” said Kristen Anderson, wife of Darrington girls basketball coach Jeff Anderson. “It’s been pretty devastating, but we’ve witnessed a lot of good things in our community because of it. It will get better. There’s a lot of work ahead for Darrington.”

Darrington canceled Tuesday’s baseball and softball games against Orcas Island, according to high school athletic director Cory Ross. The baseball team’s Saturday game against Seattle Lutheran was also called off.

Ross said that after talking to the teams, the school decided to play today’s softball game in Sedro-Woolley and the softball and baseball games against La Conner on Friday at Darrington H.S.

“We wanted to give the community something to watch and support,” Ross said.

Ross said that all Darrington coaches and players have been accounted for, but there was one close call. Loggers baseball player Quinton Kuntz and his family weren’t at home because they were traveling to an away game in Tacoma. The family left their home 45 minutes before the slide to go to the game. The slide wiped out the Kuntz’s neighborhood.

“I thank God the home game we had scheduled got moved to an away game or I know … some of our athletes and their families would be gone since their homes are gone,” Ross said.